Written by Arianna M, High School/Pre-College Student Correspondent for CET Cuba: Advance in Healthcare, Summer 2019
Yesterday in the afternoon we went to ELAM, the Latin American school of medicine. This is a school founded by Fidel Castro that accepts foreign students who want to study medicine but can’t afford to get a proper medical education at home. This is another way in which Cuba helps other countries besides sending Cuban doctors into struggling countries.
The school was huge and in the main entrance it was interesting to see almost an exhibition of things from many different cultures. In the afternoon we went to see Fusterlandia which is an art installation made by Jose Fuster. It was absolutely stunning to see all the houses covered in his mosaic artwork on the drive there. Inside Futerlandia there were structures completely covered in colorful mosaics and for some reason there was a tortoise at the entrance which kept some of us very entertained.
The next day we had our Spanish class per usual in which we read a piece about a “computer” that wishes it could have the same option to choose who they wanted to be like a human can. It was all about how people can choose who they want to be and shouldn’t let anyone else choose for them. Afterwards, we watched a movie called Salud, which showed us how other countries are in such a need of doctors. It was so sad seeing the incredibly malnourished, sick kids waiting for the next day the doctor would show up, which could be days from then. It explained how Cuba sends its doctors to these countries and how some of these other countries aspire to have a progressive and advanced healthcare system like Cuba has.
My favorite part of the day is when we went to see the Wiliam Soler pediatrics hospital. We were greeted by people dressed in clown and fairy outfits, who are there to entertain and comfort the kids during their stay in the hospital. We then watched them sing to a sick kid in the hospital which made me happy and sad at the same time. Overall, these two days were great and flew by quickly, just like the past two weeks.